by Jackie Dana
Arric mumbled, “Sarnoc Vaj will give us his blessings for the rest of the ceremony, and then...”
“And then what?”
“Ah—well, it would be best if he explains the rest to you.”
At the end of their four circuits, the pair returned inside the torrapon. The ceremony now complete, the four Sarnoc converged upon them. Those who were not acquainted with Kate began to offer their congratulations when Vaj cut them off.
“Dosedra Arric, I must point out that Bhara Kate was not the best choice. You were told to choose someone who you could complete the ceremony with, and given—”
Arric shook his head. Adamantly he stated, “I had nothing to do with choosing her.”
“Come, Dosedra, we all know...”
He again shook his head. “Sarnoc Vaj, when I was a boy, I was taught that Goddess Kerthal tells the caliaga who shall be the riliaga. The riliaga must please Kerthal, aye?” He raised an eyebrow towards the Sarnoc. “Or are you questioning your own teachings?”
“Sofinar taught you that?” one of the Sarnoc said, smiling despite himself. He had a ruddy complexion and light brown hair so fine that wisps flew free of his braid. “That was all meant symbolically, of course,” he explained. “We all know that the caliaga picks his sweetheart.”
“Aye, Sarnoc Hissil, that may be. However, while I do care about her well-being, I do not consider Kate my ‘sweetheart’.” His voice had an edge to it that she hadn’t heard before. “Plus, with everything at stake, I certainly would not have wished to anger the Aldrish.” He wrinkled his forehead as if willing himself to remember what had happened, and then turned to her. “Truly, I mean no offense. I had intended to choose Bhara Merel, who would have been much safer for me—for both of us,” he amended. “But when I tried, I found that I could not do it.”
This Sarnoc looked at Kate. “What are your feelings on this matter? Will serving as riliaga jeopardize your relationship with the Aldrish?”
Did everyone really think there was something going on between her and Rynar? It took a great deal of self-control not to laugh at that suggestion. All five men were staring at her, and she could not for a second forget that there were hundreds of people sitting yards from where they now stood, one of whom was Rynar himself, not to mention the Vosira and at least a dozen Senvosra. She opened her mouth to speak, wanting to disabuse them all of the notion that she and the Aldrish were an item, that in fact she had grown to despise him, but she stumbled for words. “Honestly, I’m not sure what to think. It’s a lot to take in, you know?” She swallowed, and tried to get a glimpse of the crowd. Where was Rynar? He might even now be rousing the Senvosra.
Before she could elaborate on her comment, the fourth Sarnoc stepped closer. “Bhara, you must tell us truthfully what your feelings are in this matter,” he said, his manner quite direct. This Sarnoc had a shorter braid than the others, and seemed younger, perhaps only as old as she was. The discussion had made him impatient, and he asked briskly, “are you willing to serve as riliaga?”
She wavered, and turned back to Arric. He still looked puzzled, but he lifted his eyes to her, and reached for her hand. “Kate, if you’ll agree to come with me now, you shall do Sarducia—and me—a great favor.”
In that moment she knew she couldn’t let him down, regardless of the danger they might face.
“Let’s do it,” she agreed. As the answer flowed off her lips, she smiled, to prove her own bravery. “So what happens next?”
Vaj cleared his throat. He had been watching them both carefully. “Yvan,” he said to the Sarnoc who had asked the question, “the Dosedra followed the Goddess’ bidding out there, and it must not be questioned by us, or by anyone. Indeed, it may work to our advantage. Bhara Kate, it seems best that you travel to Altopon with the Dosedra after you have completed the ceremony.”
“Altopon?” Were the Sarnoc going to offer Arric sanctuary, then?
Arric nodded. “Aye, that is a good idea, Sarnoc. Kate, are you willing?”
Before she could respond, Sarnoc Hissil interrupted them. “Dosedra, the people are growing restless. We must complete Jiona. Do you know the rest of the ceremony?”
“I do. Though I had hoped you could explain—”
Hissil cut him off in mid-sentence. “Then you should continue with all haste, before someone in the crowd does something foolish.”
With no further delay, Sarnoc Vaj raised his arms. “Gods’ blessings to the caliaga and riliaga!” he shouted, loud enough for the entire crowd to hear. This raised a cheer, weaker than one would expect from so many people, but heartening all the same.
«Good luck, Kate.» Vaj offered in mind-speak. «Our prayers are with you both. We will meet again soon.»
Arric took her left hand, as her right still held the basket the Sarnoc had given her. “Take care that you do not lose that,” he cautioned her. With that, he took his first steps towards the crowd.
As they emerged from between the stones, everyone stood, and the concentric circles of men and women split along the path he chose. She held her breath as they passed dozens of Sarducians, many with disagreeable expressions, and she struggled to maintain her poise. Staring out into the crowd, she sought out Rynar, but could not find him.
“If the people respect tradition, no one will dare touch us until the moon rises tonight,” he said as they cleared the last of the people and walked across the field towards a line of trees. “By then, we should be far from Loraden.”
“And if they don’t?”
He didn’t look at her as he replied. “Let’s not think about that right now.”
Chapter 47
Within the sheltering arms of the Arsdala forest, their progress was regularly hampered by thorns and branches that raked their skin and snagged on their clothing.
It was difficult for Kate to maneuver with the robe over her dress and the silly basket in her hand, but when she asked, Arric was adamant that she keep both. The wreath of flowers she wore on her head, however, quickly caught on a branch and tumbled from her hair, and she did not go back to get it. Both snuck regular glances over their shoulders, in case they were followed, but there was neither sound nor sight of pursuit.
Eventually, after a good half-hour of crashing through the thick brush, Arric felt safe enough to stop in a small clearing. He fell against a tree trunk, breathing hard, and listened carefully for sounds of pursuit. Then he bent over, his hands on his thighs, trying to draw a full breath. “That was quite a race,” he said. “I apologize for what I put you through, but we could not chance discovery too near the edge of the forest.” He panted for a moment, and then pulled at the crown of leaves and branches, which had become tangled in his hair. “Nor did I wish to indicate that I was not taking the ceremony seriously by removing these too soon.”
Kate was also tired from the struggle through the thicket, but even hampered as she had been by her dress, she realized she was not as winded as he was. Without a word she reached up and helped unwind his hair from the wreath. Then Arric shed the rust-colored robe, exposing a simple shirt and trousers that he had chosen as the best for flight from the city. He tossed both the robe and the wreath to the ground and kicked a pile of newly-fallen leaves over them.
Watching Arric remove his ceremonial garb, she did the same. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She was nervous, as if she was unsure how to speak to him. It was difficult to accept the fact that, after everything that had happened, he was now right in front of her. She found herself unintentionally staring at him, astonished at how much a thick beard and the loss of at least fifteen pounds had changed his appearance. He also seemed pale, as if his skin had faded from amber to honey.
“Aye, to be honest, I’m a little surprised myself. I never thought I would leave that wretched tower alive. You didn’t worry too much on my account, I hope?”
There was so much to tell him, but this wasn’t the time or place. She shrugged, and replied, “I’m just glad to see you again. I wasn’t really s
ure what would happen.”
He wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “I’m also very happy to see you,” he replied, sounding equally awkward. “You seem well?” He gazed down at her hand. “Your injuries were healed?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She waved her hand to demonstrate it, though she didn’t feel fine. He likely would know little of what had happened in the days since his arrest, but her memories remained in the forefront of her mind. She didn’t feel like the same woman who had traveled through the Muras swamp with him. “How are you? When I saw you laying there in the tower I thought—I mean, I didn’t know what to think. I was afraid you were dead.”
He had been leaning against a tree, and now he flexed a thin branch between his fingers. “Aye, well, I’ve been better,” he replied, a sarcastic, half-hearted chuckle in his voice. “At least the adoli has mostly left my system, though to be honest I would not wish that on my worst enemy.”
“I can imagine.” She inspected their surroundings, wondering if it was safe to linger here so casually and chat. The clearing was tiny and unremarkable, a small space walled in with tall oaks, brush and vines. They had no vantage point beyond the trees, and could be attacked from any direction. “Will we be able to find Fantion now?”
“Fantion?” he looked at her quizzically. “Why would we do that?”
“I just assumed—I mean, we’re in Lockleaf, without any weapons or supplies. I figured the best thing to do would be to go to his camp.”
“Ah, well, it would be nice to see him, but that’s not possible.” He shook his head and bent down to tuck his trousers into his boots. “We’ll be followed, and I cannot risk leading Senvosra to them. We’ll make it, aye, you and me?” he asked with an encouraging smile, though it sounded as if he himself was unconvinced.
“We can try.” When she first saw him in the torrapon, she was so happy to see him alive, but now, her relief was tempered by their current situation. She was troubled both by the danger they faced and the fact that she had become a key participant in an important ceremony she knew nothing about. “You shouldn’t have chosen me back there, you know. I’m not Sarducian. How can I be the queen of the summer, or whatever?” Even as she said that, she realized it would be a long time until summer came around again. “I’m not even sure I’ll still be here by then.”
“Really?” he asked. He had been smiling, but the expression promptly faded, and his eyes were wide with surprise. “You were planning on leaving?”
She scrambled to explain. “Well, I mean, I don’t know. I might be, but—” She always suspected her tenure in Sarducia wasn’t up to her to decide, although, with the ceremony, maybe she had been given an extension. However, she couldn’t explain any of this this to Arric, since he knew nothing of how she had come to be in this land in the first place. “I meant, this isn’t my home, you know? I might end up leaving at any time.”
“Maybe the Goddess knows something we don’t,” he replied with a chuckle. “I mean, it’s not likely she’d make a mistake like that.”
She rolled her eyes. “So choosing me really wasn’t part of your plan?”
He seemed confused by her words. “Nay, I had no plan other than to leave the city, nor did the Sarnoc suggest anything of the sort. Their concern over my choice was genuine, as far as I know.” He rubbed at a pair of fresh scratches on his palm. “To be honest, even I knew nothing of being named caliaga until this morning. The Sarnoc said it was my only way out of Loraden, so despite my reservations over using the ceremony for personal gain, I agreed. After they told me, they immediately had me drink several potions, so I was scarcely myself. I certainly had no chance to consider the implications or make a more detailed plan for how to proceed.” He leaned back his head and took a deep breath. “After all you’ve done, I’m very sorry that I involved you, and put you in danger again. Truly, I had no idea what had happened until after it was done.”
It seemed so ludicrous, but she knew he wouldn’t lie about something like this. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll make it work.” She smiled bravely. Then she took the opportunity to observe him more closely. “You don’t look fully recovered, though. Are you sure you can go through with this?”
“Aye, there’s no going back.” He gave her a concerned look. “Still, if you must know, I worry more about you.”
His words surprised her. “What do you mean? Surely you know by now that I’m willing to help you, and if you can make it, so can I.”
“Aye, from all you’ve done so far, that’s true enough.” He curled up one side of his mouth. “It’s just that—well, the ceremony has a few specific requirements, and I never—” He kicked at a rock under his heel. “I know you won’t believe me, but I’ll swear on the name of the Goddess Kerthal herself that I did not plan to choose you.”
“Well, thanks a lot.”
“Nay, you misunderstand me. I meant no insult. When I was out there, I had intended something else—”
“You were going to choose Merel.”
“Aye—but suddenly I felt compelled to turn around, and the next thing I knew, I chose you. It was as if there was no one else in the crowd. It must have been the Goddess guiding me—what else could it have been? Like I said, Kerthal is not known for her mistakes.” Again he smiled, though it was a troubled grin. “It’s funny how the Sarnoc didn’t believe it either.”
“Yeah, so there’s that. Why did they make such an issue about it? Why was it such a big deal who you chose?”
He scratched at his beard. “Ah, well. I’m sure that’s because of the final step of the ceremony. Even though the Sarnoc do not expect me to be able to complete it, I think they had hoped for at least a public pretense to the contrary.”
“What does that mean?”
Again he toed at a rock stuck in the ground, making a point not to look at her. “There are four torrapons that host identical ceremonies. Afterwards, all the couples go out into the woods, or onto the beach or into the hills, depending where they are.”
“And?” She stared down at the basket of seeds, suddenly apprehensive. “What are we expected to do?”
He tipped his head back, gazing into the tops of the trees above. “The idea is that one child must be conceived as a result of Jiona.”
For a moment there was silence. Her jaw had fallen open, but nothing else on her body moved, save an involuntary twitch of her right eye. It took her a moment to summon up the courage to ask for clarification. “What do you mean? You’re trying to say that we’re supposed to...” As her face flushed, all she could do was laugh. She suddenly understood at least one reason why Rynar seemed so aggrieved when she had been chosen. “That’s ridiculous!”
He popped his head up and looked at her with surprise. “Aye, well.” He grinned. “I thought you might be angry, after that time in Bhoren.”
“Hey, at least you thought of my feelings this time,” she said, still shaking her head at the absurdity of this news. “So what happens if we don’t complete the ceremony?”
Arric shrugged, and crumpled a leaf in his hand. “Given what we have ahead of us today, I don’t think it will be an issue, and I’m sure the Sarnoc understand that. To be honest, I had no intention of pushing you into completing the ceremony.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Aye.” He nodded once, as if to suggest a pact had been sealed. His forehead was thick with sweat, and he wiped it with his sleeve. “We will continue on to Altopon after we have rested, and that’s that.”
She turned her head from side to side, as if a road or landmark might manifest itself, even though she was firmly lost in the grasp of the forest, and couldn’t have even pointed out the direction of Loraden now. ‘Lockleaf,’ indeed. “How far is it from here, anyway?”
He gazed up at the sun. “It is nearly directly east of here, maybe five days’ journey on the roads? Most people take the Amberia River, which is much faster. To be honest, I’ve never made the journey on foot, nor know anyone who has, and certainly no one who was
trying to avoid being captured by Senvosra.”
“Five days?” She considered what he had said, and shook her head. “You know Arric, this is crazy. You’re the Dosedra, and you’re outlawed, with your brother surely after you. You’ve been held prisoner for weeks, and poisoned, and are obviously still weak as hell. Yet we’re expected to walk all the way to Altopon without any supplies or weapons? Did Sarnoc Vaj really think you’d make it?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “He warned me that it wouldn’t be easy, but I agreed to try. It’s my only chance. Though I’d likely have agreed to anything—the adoli was making me crazy. I still feel it now, a bit, and it’s been what, four or five days now?”
“Actually, it was nine.”
“Really? I guess I was in and out of consciousness for longer than I thought.” He sighed, and pushed his hair from his eyes. “As for supplies, I could not carry anything from the torrapon, or people would have argued I was improperly chosen. After all, the couples do not have need of such things on the night of Jiona.” He tried to smile. “We do have one advantage. This way there are no horses or campfires to give us away. I’ve already decided that we should not follow the roads, and as Bedoric will discover, it will be difficult to track us through the Arsdala. The Sarnoc said they would have provisions hidden in a few different locations, so if we can reach one of those points, that will help.” He examined her expression, one of distrust and vexation. “Aye, Kate, it’s going to be hard, but I think we have a chance.”
She nodded, reminded that in many respects things could have been much worse. At least he was alive, and they were both free from imprisonment—and in the end, those things were paramount. She leaned against a tree to stretch the muscles in her exhausted legs. “We’ll do the best we can.”
“Aye. We should probably get moving.” He pointed to his left. “The Amberia is that way, to the south. Bedoric likely expects us to head that way so we can hire a riversmith. He surprised me once; I do not intend for it to happen a second time. We continue east on foot.”